Gnaw Gap inquired of Princely Scion, "Do you know wherein all
things agree?"
   "How could I know that?"
   "Do you know what you don't know?"
   "How could I know that?"
   "Well, then, is it possible to know anything at all?"
   "How could I know that? Nonetheless, I'll try to say something
about it. How can we know that what I call knowledge is not 
really ignorance? How can we know that what I call ignorance is 
not really knowledge? But let me try to ask you a few questions.
If people sleep in damp places, they develop lumbago or even
partial paralysis. But would the same thing happen if a loach
did so? If people dwell in trees, they will tremble with vertigo.
But would the same thing happen if a gibbon did so? Of these three,
which knows the proper place to dwell? People eat meat, deer eat
grass, giant centipedes savor snakes, hawks and crows relish mice.
Of these four, which knows the proper food to eat? Gibbons go for
gibbons, buck mates with doe, loaches cavort with fish. Mao Ch'iang
and Hsi Shih were considered by men to be beautiful, but if fish
took one look at them they would dive into the depths, if birds
saw them they would fly high into the sky, if deer saw them they
would run away pell-mell. Of these four, which knows the correct
standard of beauty for all under heaven? As I see it, the principle
of humaneness and righteousness, the paths of right and wrong, are
inextricably confused. How would I be able to distinguish among 
them?"
   "If you," asked Gnaw Gap, "do not know the difference between
benefit and harm, does the ultimate man likewise not know the
difference between them?"
   "The ultimate man is spiritous," said Princely Scion. "If the
great marshes were set on fire, he would not feel hot. If the 
rivers turned to ice, he would not feel cold. If violent thunder
split the mountains, he would not be injured. If whirlwinds lashed
the seas, he would not be frightened. Such being the case, he rides
the clouds, mounts the sun and moon, and wanders beyong the four
seas. Since not even life and death have any transforming effect
upon him, how much less do benefit and harm?"


From "Wandering on the Way" by Victor H. Mair, 1994  pp.20-21
Chapter 2, Part 11 from the Writings of Chuang Tzu
Typed by Stefan Erickson, 7/24/97